Scotland’s north-east is missing a trick by not harnessing power from the sun, according to the man driving the UK Government’s solar strategy.
Leading solar expert Ray Noble says solar power is not a technology restricted to England’s sunny south-west, but instead a key energy generator with the potential to sit alongside existing wind schemes.
“We believe that solar is viable in Scotland,” Mr Noble told the Press and Journal.
“What we have found in Germany, where they have a lot of wind and solar, is that the two work very well together.”
He said data gathered from existing UK schemes shows they are producing up to 15% more electricity than originally expected.
Last week the P&J reported a leading solar developer was scoping out 12 sites in Scotland – including some in north and north-east coastal areas – for large-scale solar farms.
London-based Lightsource Renewable Energy says if the schemes go ahead – each around 50 acres in size to house 7MW of solar panels – enough electricity could be produced to power around 21,600 homes.
Mr Noble, who helped set up the National Solar Centre and is currently working with the UK Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change on a national solar strategy, says lower grid connection costs north of the border mean solar is becoming a more viable renewables technology for Scotland.
He says although Scotland has typically 10-15% less light resource than southern parts of England, longer daylight hours in the summer will balance this out.
“Some of the sites for wind could also be solar sites because they already have the connection to the grid,” said Mr Noble.
He said a combination of the two technologies throughout the year would create a steady supply of electricity to the network.
“And because it has come down and continues to come down in price, it’s going to be the lowest cost clean energy generator and one of the cheapest renewables technologies alongside onshore wind,” added Mr Noble.
Scottish Renewables policy officer Stephanie Clark said: “Developing solar power on a commercial scale is still in its early stages in Scotland, but despite our notoriously dreich weather this technology is not only viable, it also has the ability to make a good contribution to our overall renewable energy mix.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman last night said solar power had a role to play in contributing to “Scotland’s record levels of clean energy generation”.
“We support a range of technologies – from wind and hydroelectric power to biomass, marine and solar energy – to ensure nature’s power can be harnessed using the most efficient systems in the most suitable environments,” said the spokeswoman.